Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1887-05-12
CHANGES OF COLOR.
How the Chameleon Varies Its Hue |
Accordance with Its Environments.


There is tiny crustacean, the
chameleon shrimp, which can alter its
hue to that of any material on which it
happens to rest. On sandy bottom
it appears gray or sand colored; when
lurking among sea-weed it becomes
green, or red, or brown, according to
the nature of its momentary back
ground. Probably the effect is quite
unconscious, or at least involuntary,
like blushing with ourselves-and no.
body ever bushes on purpose, though
they do say distinguished poet
once complained that an eminent
actor did not follow his stage direc-
tions because he omitted to obey the
rubrical remark: "Here Harold pur-
pies with anger" The change is pro-
duced by certain automatic muscles
which force up particular pigment
cells above the others, green coming
to the top on green surface, red on a
ruddy one, and brown or gray where
the circumstances demand them.
Many kinds of fish similarly alter color
to suit their background by forcing
backward or forward certain special
pigment cells known as chromato-
phores, whose various ordinations pro-
duce almost any required tone or
shade. Almost all reptiles and am
phibians possess the power of changing
their hue in accordance with their en-
vironment in a very high degree; and
among certain tree toads and frogs it
is difficult to say what is the normal
coloring. as they vary indefinitely from
buff and dove-color to chocolate brown,
rose and even lilac.
But of all the parti-colored reptiles
the chameleon is by far the best known,
and on the whole the most remarkable
for his Inconsistency for coloration. Like
a lacertine Vicar of Bray, he varies
incontinently from buff to hue, and
from blue back to orange again, under
stress of circumstances. The mechan-
ism of this curious change is extremely
complex. Tiny corpuscles of different
pigments are sometimes hidden in the
depths of the chameleon's skin, and
sometimes spread out on its surface in
an interlacing network of brown or
purple. In addition to this prime col
oring matter, however, the animal also
possesses normal yellow pigment,
and blush layer in the skin which
acts like the iridium glass so largely
employed by DR.. Salviati, being seen
as straw-colored with trans
mitted light, but assuming faint lilac
tint against an opaque absorbent sur
face. While sleeping the chameleon
becomes almost white in the shade, but
if light falls upon him he slowly dark
ems by an automatic process. The
movem ents of the eorpuscles
are governed by opposite nerves and
muscles which either cause them to
bury themselves under the true skin,
or to form an opaque ground behind
the blue layer. or to spread out in q
ramifying mass on the outer surface,
and so produce as desired almost any
necessary shade of gray, green, black
or yellow. 1t is an interesting fact
that many chrysalids undergo precisely
J similar changes of color in adaptation
to the background against which they
suspend themselves, being gray on d
gray surface, green on a green one
and even half red and half black wher
hung up against pieces of parti-colored
paper.-Grant Allen. IN CorrahiH Nag.
dzine.